1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric toaster oven for toasting sliced bread and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional electric toaster ovens are classified into a group of those in which the intensity of current supplied to the heater is controlled on the basis of the result of detection of the temperature of the baking chamber with a thermostat or a thermister and a group of those in which the duration of current supply to the heater is controlled by setting a timer beforehand. These conventional toaster ovens are able to toast slices of bread in a satisfactory condition at the first toasting cycle. However, since the temperature of the toasting chamber rises as the toasting cycle is repeated successively, the toasting condition varies and hence the toaster ovens are unable to toast slices of bread in a desired condition.
As is generally known in the electric toaster oven manufacturing industry, a thermostat and a control unit for controlling the operation of the toaster oven for use as a toaster or as an oven are incorporated into the toaster oven. U.S. Pat. No. 3,119,000, for example, discloses a control unit for controlling the toaster oven for use as a toaster or as an oven. This control unit is installed in the lower part of the front of a toaster oven and a door of the baking chamber is placed above the control unit. A heat sensor is provided in the baking chamber. When the toaster oven is used as a toaster, the heat sensor detects the surface temperature of the slices of bread during the toasting operation and the toasting operation is controlled on the basis of the temperature detected by the heat sensor. When the toaster oven is used as an oven, the heat sensor regulates the supply of current to a plurality of heating elements to control the temperature of the air in the baking chamber. The control unit is provided with a knob for operating a cam actuator disposed behind the knob. The cam actuator selects a toasting mode in which the toaster oven operates as a toaster and a heating mode in which the toaster oven operates as an oven, and sets the corresponding operating conditions. However, since the interval between the successive baking cycles is not always the same and the temperature variation of the baking chamber varies between the baking cycles, this control unit is unable to control the toaster oven so that the baked condition is always the same.